


Nailed It!

by forbala



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Baking, Bitty did, Flirting, Getting Together, Jack Zimmermann Didn't Go to Samwell, M/M, Nailed It AU, Very bad baking, netflix au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-02-23 01:14:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23603362
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/forbala/pseuds/forbala
Summary: Bitty, famed YouTube baker and cookbook author, guest judges on the Netflix series Nailed It! The bakers are three NHL Providence Falconers, here to raise money for charity and get laughed at for their sad baking attempts. Baking sins are made.
Relationships: Eric "Bitty" Bittle/Jack Zimmermann
Comments: 26
Kudos: 251





	Nailed It!

**Author's Note:**

> Every time I watched a new season of Nailed It, I wrote a little more of this. I finally finished it! Hoorah!

“Welcome to Nailed It!” Nicole said into the camera. “The show that takes amazing cakes...and gives you _not that_. On today’s very special episode, we’ve got three big, beefy hockey players competing for charity!"

Bitty held back a laugh. He’d met Nicole and Jacques the day before and he loved that girl. She was wild and loved Beyoncé as much as he did, and Bitty couldn’t help but love her. As he looked out at the hockey players before him, he appreciated the sport, not for the first time. Having played hockey in college, Bitty had first-hand experience in the grueling exercises (the sport had taken him from twink to twunk) that produced such gorgeous, well-muscled men, and these boys were _specimens._

Nicole gestured to Bitty and said, “Our guest judge this week is vlogger Eric Bittle. Bitty, as he’s more commonly known, is a classic Southern baker. He’s also a hockey _and_ figure skating veteran! Impressive!”

The boys clapped and smiled politely. The tall one looked pleased as punch.

“Bakers, introduce yourselves!” Nicole commanded.

There would be well-edited intros for the audience, but for the moment, they just gave their names.

First, the tallest, “My name Alexei Mashkov.” He had dark hair and a thick Russian accent and Bitty smiled at him. _Adorable,_ he thought to himself.

“I’m Randall Robinson,” said the next guy, the shortest of them. He had a nice smile and flawless dark skin. Bitty liked his beard.

Finally, the last one simply said, “Jack Zimmermann.” He looked like he was trying to be happy to be there but he was uncomfortable anyway. _Poor thing,_ Bitty thought. _But also...wow._ Because he was obviously the shy one, but he was also the most gorgeous. Bitty stuffed his hands in the pockets of his shorts just for something to do with them.

Nicole went on with her intro, “You’re going to be baking some incredible food for us today. And the winner of each round will get $10,000 donated to the charity of their choice, which will be matched by the corresponding contestant. So let’s get to it! First, we have Baker’s Choice! Bitty, please explain!”

Bitty gestured to the door to his right and explained the challenge as the door opened. “We’ve got cupcakes topped with a Falconer logo cookie. The recipe and directions are at your stations. You’ll have forty-five minutes.”

Nicole took up the thread. “Because we like you, we’ve provided the cookie dough. The rest is up to you! Go, go, go!”

The guys dashed to retrieve their example treat and then to their respective stations. They tapped at their tablets furiously, muttering the directions to themselves. Alexei and Randall were grinning playfully but Jack looked like he was about to diffuse a bomb. Bitty had no idea if these guys had any baking experience, but they had probably never made anything so detailed. This was going to be fun.

Bitty sat at the judges’ table with Nicole and Jacques as the men began to mix ingredients. Jacques said, in his lovely French accent, “Look at Randall, he’s mixing all his ingredients at once. That’s going to give him an inconsistent cake, it’s not good.”

“Um, what is Alexei doing?” Bitty asked.

Nicole shouted, “Alexei! Are you eating right now?”

Alexei looked up at them, smiling, and responded, “Yes! Cookies not on meal plan.”

They all laughed as Alexei grabbed another handful of cookies from the pantry before returning to his station. Bitty looked around and noticed Jack putting his cupcakes and cookies into the bottom oven. “Uh oh, that won’t cook in time.”

Bitty couldn’t help but laugh, almost doubling over, as the boys chirped each other while they baked.

“Hey, Tater, what’s that mess you got there? Dog food?” Randall shouted at his teammate.

“You quiet, Thirdy. I beat you, you see.”

As time went on, and the deadline got closer, Bitty got up and went on a little tour. He started with Alexei, closest to him. “What’re you up to?”

“My cookie is difficult,” he said. He was cutting a cookie, already cooked, into the worst approximation of the Falconers logo. Bitty couldn’t help but laugh. 

When he got to Randall, he watched the man spread buttercream on his cupcake.

“Hey, Bitty,” he said. He finished the icing (sloppily, it was sliding down the side) and started on the cookie decorating.

“What have you got there?”

“Apparently edible paper? Seemed easier than using frosting.”

Bitty nodded. “Looks good. Are you ready for me to eat it?”

Randall laughed. “I don’t know about that. I hope so.”

Bitty then moved on to Jack’s station, the furthest away. He stood there for a moment, watching him. “You’re really in the zone, huh?” he asked. 

Jack nodded. “I want to do well.”

“Do you bake much?”

“Never. Does this look okay?” he asked, showing off his cookie.

Bitty laughed a little. “It certainly is something.” It was a sort of square cookie and Jack had drawn on an eye and beak in a thick line of icing. “But I think you’re ahead of Alexei. Are your cupcakes done?”

Jack frowned. “No.”

Bitty looked around. “Well...don’t tell on me. Move it to the top oven. That one cooks faster.”

Jack nodded seriously and moved immediately to obey. “Thanks,” he said, smiling just a little. Bitty’s heart felt lighter, suddenly. It was a very nice smile.

Bitty returned to the judges’ table for the last few minutes of the challenge. He tried not to laugh as the bakers frantically tried to stick their cookies on top of the cupcakes. 

The hostess and judges moved out from behind the table. “Ten!” called Nicole. They counted down each second until the buzzer went off and the bakers had to step away from their...masterpieces. 

“Okay, let’s see what we’ve got! Alexei, show me what you made!” Nicole demanded. Alexei smiled (he was an absolute cutie) and revealed his dessert. Nicole started laughing and Bitty chuckled too, covering his mouth with his hand. It was certainly something. “Well...that is a thing you made.” The cookie was mere crumbles.

They tasted it and it was actually pretty good. Then they ate the cupcake and Nicole gagged. Bitty said, “That’s undercooked. It’s a bit…”

“Wet,” Nicole filled in.

Jacques said, “You should cook it for five more minutes next time. For the cookie, cut it out before you bake. It will not fall apart that way.”

Alexei nodded, still smiling, and they moved on.

When Randall revealed his creation, Bitty and Nicole couldn’t help but laugh. There was a cookie, which was good. The decorating was interesting. There was indeed edible paper, as he’d promised, with a cartoonish Falconers logo drawn on.

“The cupcake is dry, it’s overdone,” Jacques said.

Nicole nodded. “Yeah, it’s a little chewy.”

“The cookie is good though,” Bitty added.

Last, they made it to Jack. He revealed his cookie with an embarrassed little smile. “Euh, sorry,” he said.

Bitty chuckled. He was _too damn cute_.

“This looks...well, not great,” Nicole said. The cookie was square, as Bitty had seen before, with carefully, yet poorly, applied icing in the vague shape of the Falconers logo. The blue and yellow were mixing and also dripping down into the cupcake below. The cupcake itself had been filled too high and spilled over the paper cup.

When they ate it, Nicole said, “Y’know, it’s not bad. It’s pretty okay. Well, all of you all sure did make things this round. Now it’s time to announce the winner! Bitty, if you will.”

“The winner of this round was Randall! The Rhode Island Community Food Bank will be getting a donation of $10,000, to be matched by Randall. You also get the golden baker’s hat!”

The crew cleaned up the food and the counters and reset while the cast and hockey players took a break. They went back to crafty, the snack table backstage, and stood around, snacking and talking. 

Bitty had to fan himself because Jacques and Jack were conversing in French and he could not handle this. Nicole seemed to be in the same boat, as she leaned over to Bitty and said, “No, it’s too hot, I can’t take this!”

“Lord, yes,” Bitty agreed, reaching over to rub her back.

Fortunately, the men soon switched back to English, sparing Nicole and Bitty from further sweating.

Naturally, Bitty had brought pie...four pies, actually, and everyone was gobbling them right up.

Alexei, through a mouthful of blueberry pie, said, “Thish amazhing. I come to your houshe for dinner.”

Bitty laughed and thanked him, then asked about their season. “I haven’t been following closely, but I know y’all won the Cup a few years ago and you’re doing pretty well this season.” They chatted about it for a while, discussing stats.

“How’d you move from figure skating to hockey?” Randall asked, later.

“Hockey offered a scholarship, figure skating didn’t,” Bitty said with a laugh.

Jack stood quietly, eating the maple apple pie and listening to Bitty tell stories about his college hockey team. “I really struggled that first year. I couldn’t take a check. But Holster and Ransom helped out and I got through it okay.”

Out of nowhere, Jack asked, “How long have you been baking?”

“Oh, Lord!” Bitty exclaimed, laughing. “Practically forever. I learned it from my Mama and MooMaw. My mini pies won at the tri-county fair two years in a row.”

“This is really good.”

“Well, thank you. I’m glad y’all are enjoying it.”

Randall said, “You’re from Georgia, right? Do you still live there?”

“Oh no, I live in Boston now. I went to Samwell and it just felt natural to stay in the area. I’m still not used to the winters, but I do like Boston. It’s a lovely city.”

Wes called them back to set and they geared up for round two. Nicole got into character (which was just a 2% exaggeration of her normal personality). “Oh boy, it’s time for round two. Bitty, if you please.”

“Everyone will do a celly when you make this cake,” he read off the prompter, smiling and trying not to laugh at the cheesy writing.

The door opened and Nicole said, “It’s a Stanley Cup cake!”

Jacques went on to describe the elements, the cake and fondant and so on. Bitty watched the Falconers’ wide eyes: Alexei was laughing nervously, Randall looked wholly unprepared, and Jack was sweating.

“If you get overwhelmed, just hit your panic button and Bitty or I will assist you for three minutes,” Jacques finished.

Nicole picked it up. “Alexei, oof, you struggled in that last round so you get the advantage. If you get in a pinch, hit your lacrosse button and your competitors will have to score a lacrosse goal while you cheerily go about your baking.”

Alexei grinned and pumped his fist. “Yessss!”

They set the clock for an hour and forty-five minutes and the bakers ran to their stations to get started. Bitty, Nicole, and Jacques returned to their table, laughing at the scrambling professional athletes.

It wasn’t long before Jack hit his panic button. Bitty waved Jacques off and went to him. “What’s up, Jack?”

“Euh, well, something’s wrong with my batter. It’s all crumbly.”

Bitty nodded. “Okay, all you have to do is add some milk, let’s say half a cup, and keep mixing it. Yeah, there you go, see. It looks better already. Anything else I can help you with?”

Jack smiled softly at him and shrugged. “You said you went to Samwell?”

“I did! It was great!”

“My mom went there. I almost did but I joined the minor leagues instead.”

“Really?” Bitty asked, shocked. “We coulda been teammates!”

“That would’ve been fun. I bet you’re good.”

“Well, I don’t know about that. I’m okay. I’m pretty quick though, I’ll tell you that.”

“I’d like to see you play sometime.”

“Oh, goodness. I barely play anymore. Once in a while with my old teammates. I’m not in fighting shape anymore.”

Jack shrugged. “I’m sure you’re still good.”

Bitty blushed and just then, the buzzer went off and he was forced to return to his station. “Well, I can’t wait to see your cake.”

“Hah, right.”

Bitty returned to his seat beside Nicole and watched. Was Jack flirting? It sure felt like flirting but it surely wasn’t. Jack was straight, after all. But oh, Bitty could dream.

Around the halfway mark, they overheard Randall laughing and cursing. “What’re you up to, Randall?” Nicole called.

“Well, I just put my cake in the oven and now I’m trying to figure out this fondant. It’s like edible Play-Do. I should get some for home and let my daughter play with it,” he added with a chuckle.

Bitty laughed. “Maybe they’ll let you take some home.”

Near the end, as Jack and Randall were busily decorating, Alexei started laughing before hitting his lacrosse button.

“Uh oh!” screamed Nicole. “Jack, Randall, get over here! It’s time to play lacrosse!”

Bitty laughed. “When I was in college, the hockey team had a terrible rivalry with the lacrosse team. Even now, I can’t hear the word without shuddering.”

Nicole merely laughed at him while the two hockey players attempted to land goals. Jack was the first and he quickly returned to his station, running madly. Randall followed shortly.

Meanwhile, the clock ran down. Nicole called out a three minute warning. They stood from the table and went around in front of it. Nicole counted down from ten seconds. And then the clock hit zero, a buzzer sounded, and the bakers put their hands up. Alexei was giggling.

“Okay, bakers!” Nicole called. “Come on out and show us what you got!”

First up was Alexei. He unveiled his cake and it looked...well, okay, it looked bad. But there were two (small) tiers, albeit the top tier was dangerously close to slipping off the side. There was an attempt at the bowl on top, except it was broken in half and badly misshapen. The idea of a Stanley Cup, perhaps.

Nicole thought it was hilarious. “Oh, no! I’m sorry, I don’t mean to laugh but...it’s a drunk Stanley Cup. It got drunk and fell over!”

Next up was Randall. When he revealed his cake, the Cup part looked okay—not good, necessarily, but it was upright at least—but the cake looked tragic.

“It all fell apart,” Bitty said sadly. “You didn’t butter your pan, did you?”

Randall shook his head. “I didn’t know I should,” he said with a chuckle.

Finally, they moved on to Jack’s cake. He revealed it and Nicole laughed again. “Okay!”

It was certainly sloppy. The fondant was only draped over the front of the cake and the Cup on top was uneven.

“Well, now we get to taste these monstrosities!” Nicole said.

Jacques, continued with, “Cut us your best slice and bring it over.”

First up was Alexei’s cake. When he bit into it, Bitty gagged. He spit his cake out into his hand and grimaced up at Alexei. “Oh, honey, no.”

“That’s so bad,” groaned Nicole, laughing.

Bitty asked, “Did you use—how much salt did you use?”

Alexei shrugged but Jacques had the answer. “You used salt instead of sugar.”

“Oh no!” Nicole cried out, practically rolling on the table. “You have to eat this. If I had to put that in my mouth, so do you.”

Alexei’s face was priceless.

Next was Randall’s cake. “Let’s have a taste,” said Jacques, reaching in with his fork.

Nicole took her own bite and said, “It’s not bad. The buttercream is actually really good.”

Bitty nodded along. “The cake is definitely dry. You overcooked it again, but the flavor is good.”

Last but not least, they ate Jack’s cake.

Jacques said, “It’s an interesting flavor. What is that?”

“I used blueberry. Because the Falconers colors...I thought. I don’t know.”

“That’s cute,” Bitty said, smiling. “It’s not too strong, it’s a good flavor.”

“The buttercream is a little wet, I have to admit,” Nicole said.

With the tasting done, Wes and other crew members came in to clean up their cake and forks. They got water to wash it all down. Back to filming, Wes brought out the trophy and Bitty readied the cash gun.

“And the winner of this round is...Jack! Congratulations, Jack!” Nicole announced. Bitty pulled the trigger and fake cash spewed out. “We will donate $10,000 to Hockey Talks, a mental health organization, which Jack will match!”

Jack smiled, small but definitely there and definitely happy. 

Nicole went on. “Not to worry, Alexei! We’ll also be donating $10,000 to your charity, The Providence Refugee Ministry.” Alexei whooped. That was the whole point of this episode, after all. Nicole, Jacques, and Bitty ran out from behind the counter to join them, where Jacques took a selfie of them all.

Nicole recorded her post-show spiel and someone yelled out, “That’s a wrap! We’re good!”

Bitty turned to Jack and smiled up at him. “You know, you’re not half bad. With some practice, you could definitely make some good cakes.”

“Oh, ah, thank you. I’m just happy Hockey Talks gets such a nice donation.” Jack looked like he wanted to say more, and after a moment, he did. “To be honest, I thought about donating to The Trevor Project, but I’m not ready for people to question me about that. I’m not really ready to come out yet.”

“Oh! Wow, really?”

Jack nodded. “My teammates know, but I’m not out publicly. I donate to The Trevor Project but it’s anonymous.”

“Well, I know what it’s like,” Bitty said sympathetically. “Georgia isn’t, well, all that progressive. Outside Atlanta, anyway. It was a hard place to grow up, being who I am.”

Jack hummed; he knew it all too well. “Y’know, you live in Boston, that’s not far from Providence. You could come up for a game sometime. And maybe we could, I don’t know, get dinner?”

Bitty felt his eyes widen, then he smiled. “Yeah...yeah. That’d be great, Jack. I’d love to.”

Jack smiled and it was so handsome and sweet that Bitty felt faint. They exchanged numbers and Bitty saw Alexei and Randall watching them with knowing smiles. He blushed and looked back at Jack.

Then the hockey manager, Georgia, came over. “Hey boys, we’re about ready to head out.”

“I guess I’ll see you around,” Bitty said.

“Yeah. I’ll see you.”

Bitty watched them all walk away. He went to gather his own things and leave, but he paused when he got a text message. 

**Jack** >>> It was nice to meet you :-)

Bitty smiled. This boy.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Kudos, comment, and yell with me on
> 
> Hello. Do you want to visit the website [Twitter](http://www.twitter.com/forbala_)!!


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